John Hooker

John Hooker (1932-2008) was a novelist and publisher of significant Australian writers from Anne Summers to Kevin Gilbert. Born in Auckland, Hooker established his career in publishing in Melbourne, first with Frank Cheshire and then with Penguin. During his time at Penguin, he published the Australian edition of Portnoy's Complaint, which resulted in a landmark censorship trial.

John Hooker reviews 'Patterns of Australia' by Geoffrey Dutton

October 1980, no. 25 • 01 October 1980

... no mention of the Western Suburbs, life in Blacktown, Mt Druitt … no mention of Sunshine, Altona, Lalor … Has Geoffrey Dutton ever had a beer in a pub at the top end of Brunswick Street, Fitzroy on a Saturday night? As I write this, the Aboriginals have been forced to capitulate at Noonkanbah. The Western Australian Government is hell-bent that Amax should drill on the Black ... (read more)

'Andrew Fabinyi – A memoir' by John Hooker

February–March 1983, no. 48 • 01 February 1983

[Ed.: The renewal of Australian publishing after World War II was in no small part due to the efforts of one man, Andrew Fabinyi, Publishing Director of the Melbourne firm of F.W. Cheshire. His personal interests in ideas and his commitment to Australia were demonstrated in his publishing program as a whole and in such titles as Peter Coleman’s Australian Civilization, in which a number of write ... (read more)